“When you read the fine print, what he’s talking about is basically a set of tax credits that generate about $137 billion in tax credits that he believes will produce $1 trillion of investment,” Foxx said in an interview on “CBS This Morning.”

Foxx added that he thinks the plan would only cover some projects.

Asked where he thinks the money should be spent first, Foxx said, “I think the money needs to be spent on where the clogs are the greatest -- where the traffic and congestion is the most.”

“A lot of time we spread money like peanut butter in transportation across the country,” he said, adding that the U.S. should be more data-driven in how it distributes money. “Go where the problems are and start to build around them.”

In terms of Mr. Trump’s claim that his infrastructure plan would create millions of jobs, Foxx said that could only happen if the administration makes smart investments.

“You have to have smart investments in transportation in order to get those second and third-level benefits,” he said.

Foxx served as President Obama’s transportation secretary from 2013 through the end of his administration. He previously served as the mayor of Charlotte, North Carolina.